News from the Library of Congress

November 29, 1993

The Children's Literature Center in the Library of Congress has
announced publication of Antonio Frasconi at the Library of
Congress, based on a lecture given by the internationally
acclaimed graphic artist at the center's 1989 International
Children's Book Day celebration.

In his lecture, May 18, 1989, the artist recounted his creative
and intellectual journey as he developed into the
"journalist-artist" that he dreamed of becoming as a boy in
Montevideo, Uruguay. Culmination of this goal, he told the
audience of children's book and art lovers, came in his creation
of a major exhibition in 1986 to show the "tragic history" of
Uruguay during 12 years of military dictatorship.

He also explained development of his artistic style,
specializing in woodcuts, and creation of his first children's
book, See and Say, a picture book in four languages, published
in 1955. The idea for the book came, he said, from his
unsuccessful search for a way to teach his young son, Pablo,
about differences in languages.

"I was looking not for a book to teach a child a foreign
language but for one that would show that there are different
ways to say the same thing, that there is more than one nation
in our world, that there are many other countries where people
speak different languages," said Mr. Frasconi.

"I discovered that my work could in some ways introduce a young
mind to an understanding of our vast cultures."

The new Library of Congress publication recounts details of the
artist's life from his birth in Buenos Aires, while his
Italian-born parents were en route to a new home in Montevideo,
his arrival in New York to study at the Art Students League in
1945, and his years of professional activity in the United
States.

The 43-page, soft-cover book is illustrated by 30 Frasconi
woodcuts. Its introduction is by Margaret K. McElderry, the
eminent children's book editor who has brought many children's
book writers and illustrators to America, and who discovered Mr
Frasconi for the American audience. An extensive bibliography
documenting the artist's illustrated books and portfolios as
well as critical writings and selected exhibition catalogs was
compiled by Cornelia Corson, head librarian, the Spence School,
New York City. The book was edited by Sybille A. Jagusch, chief
of the Children's Literature Center.

Antonio Frasconi at the Library of Congress (Stock Number
030-001-00144-0) is available from the Superintendent of
Documents, Washington, DC 20402-9328, for $3.

The Children's Literature Center was founded in 1963 in the
Library of Congress to provide reference and bibliographic
assistance to children's book authors and illustrators,
publishers, librarians, and scholars and to recognize and
encourage recognition of excellence in literature for children.
While offering no programs directly serving children, the
center's reference services, publications, and programs benefit
professionals whose work serves children's intellectual and
recreational needs.

The center has presented International Children's Book Day
celebrations annually since 1987 with support by a grant from
the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.